Roma Review of 2016 Part 14: The Curva Sud issue

Jim Pallotta, Roma President: “I’m frustrated because I think the fans have actually acted pretty well. I’m a little frustrated that the barriers went up in the first place. I think there could have been more of a conversation about it and around it versus an edict.”

Mauro Baldissoni, Roma General Manager: “Never forget that what we do is for the fans. When the league organises games, it is to propose a sporting entertainment to people coming to the game. The crowd and the fans are an essential part of the game itself – they are part of the experience, otherwise it wouldn’t work. Without the core part of the fans, you don’t have the essence of what you are trying to produce.

“It’s not only the players on the pitch who make the game, but also the fans. It’s like you organize a concert and you watch the concert on TV: the music is the same, maybe you like the sound, but you don’t have a crowd, so it’s meaningless to organise the concert and that’s the point. For Roma especially, the core fans of the Curva Sud are even more a part of this club’s history. Roma is probably known around the world for the passion of its fans more than the trophies won throughout its history. Certainly the Curva Sud was a symbol of being a football fan.

“In Italy, ‘Curva Sud’ is a way of saying that you have a passionate, intense, loud crowd even if it’s unrelated to football. It’s a symbol of what you want to have in terms of passion and loudness at an entertainment event. If you’re missing that part, you miss something that is very essential for what we do. Without them, you lose part of the reason for what we are doing.”

John Solano, Roma fan: “My thoughts are probably not the popular view. I think it’s easy to look at the situation one way if you’re not Italian or you’ve never been to a match. I think someone like that who looks at the situation versus someone who is Italian or who does attend the matches and has sat in the Curva Sud, they will have different perspectives. Having attended many matches and having sat in the Curva Sud, I agree with what they are doing.”

Wayne Girard, Roma fan: “The home games become any other game, unfortunately. It’s not special. When you have the Curva Sud, or the ‘12th Man’ or whatever cliché you want to give it, it creates a spark in each player. They are being spurred on by fans saying, ‘You can do it. You got this. Keep pushing, keep fighting.’ It’s that last little bit of difference that goes into the players’ minds with the home support.

When that’s absent, they don’t have that supernatural, out-of-body extra push. Therefore, it’s any other game. They could be anywhere in the world and it’s no different. They are not playing in front people who followed them not only for their lives, but for generations. People who are Rome, who are De Rossi, Totti, Florenzi. If those players weren’t there on the pitch, they would be in the stands along with them.”

Umberto Gandini, Roma CEO: “It hurts Roma a lot on the pitch especially, and obviously on other levels of the club. It is painful. I came from an outside situation but I was aware of these confrontations between the Curva Sud and the city authorities. Obviously, in my first three and a half months, I’ve had the opportunity to understand it a little bit more.

"I had the opportunity to sit down with the police authorities and the people at the club to understand the scenario. It’s very bad but you have to respect on one side the pride of these people that do not want their territory to be modified without serious reason. They are paying the price because I don’t think they are happy to stay outside. I think they are suffering as well but it’s a point of pride.”

John Solano: “I think implementing the barriers for little-to-no reason is not the way to approach hooliganism in football. It’s not the way to combat the ultra culture. I understand what the fans are doing and I agree with what they’re doing even though I think it has certainly negatively affected the team. When it comes to some things just based on principle, you absolutely have to take a stand at some point.”

Jim Pallotta: “We’re still working on it. A couple of conversations that we’ve had again in the last week or so that Mauro has been leading are looking better and better for us. We need the barriers down, but if we take them down, we also need the fans to play their part and take responsibility too.”

Umberto Gandini: “It’s not just the Curva Sud, the rest of the fans at Roma feel a different atmosphere, so the visiting team feels a different atmosphere. Having said that, the game we played with AC Milan was fantastic because most of the people came to the game to support the club because they understand that it is a historical opportunity.

"The Curva Sud atmosphere was not there but there were still some people. It was fantastic for the players and the team to enjoy such an experience again. The only thing I can ask for the New Year is to have this problem solved once and for all, within the regulations and laws, but respecting tradition and personal pride. It’s not going to be easy, but it is a must for this organisation.”

Mauro Baldissoni: “We are working hard to find a solution. It’s not easy because you have to deal with situations that involve the security and the safety of the people. The ultimate scope of their work is the security of the people, so you must respect that even if you disagree sometimes about their decisions. You have to work to try and show them that security and safety can be guaranteed anyway - it’s not a matter of putting a barrier in the stadium. The more you put up barriers and obstacles, the less people feel safe. They feel like they are put in a cage or constricted in some way. Generally, that is for all of the barriers in the stadium, not only for the ones in the Curva.

“It’s also a cultural battle - we insist on saying all the time that people have to be offered the best environment to enjoy what they pay for. If someone does something against the law, that specific person has to pay for their actions that are beyond the rules. Individuals must be responsible for what they do. Individuals must be responsible for their own behaviour. This also relates to the certainty of the punishment for individuals responsible for behaviours that are against the rules. Crowds can’t be responsible for the actions of single individuals. That’s something we don’t think is in line with our laws or the culture we want to introduce.”

Umberto Gandini: “There are different levels of problems. The one we are talking about with the Curva Sud is probably the most visible one, and it affects the rest of the stadium as well. We are just waiting for the authorities to finalise their plans for next year. The dialogue has always been open. There have been messages sent back and forth to sit down at a table and just try to find a common agreeable solution.

"We really hope that is going to happen early in 2017. But on the other hand, lots of other problems are affecting the general public - the parking issues, the transportation issues. The fact that Roma, being the capital city, has to be an example for the rest of the system from a security standpoint - this is difficult for the people of Roma to accept. It is definitely in our determinations to find a solution for all of these things, especially going towards the end of the season and the new season.

“It’s very important for Jim [Pallotta] and the board that the club lives with its fans. The players, the staff and all of the messages we are sending out are obviously inspired by the vision of Mr Pallotta that we are a family. We are one single entity and the club cannot be successful to the maximum level possible without the support of its fans. People say that the new stadium in Turin, for example, with the fact that it’s always at 95% capacity, is worth 10 points to Juventus per season. I don’t know how you measure that, but it’s definitely a fact that when you come into a ground where the fans are close to the action, supportive of the players, very vocal and so on, it undermines your certainties and your confidence.

"It would be fantastic to go back to the days where coming to the Olimpico was really an experience - although I have to say that on the pitch at the Olimpico the team are doing their part because we are undefeated so far.”

Mauro Baldissoni: “I’ve heard some people question whether the club’s strategy in dealing with the Curva Sud issue is in any way related to the need for approval on the new stadium but these are two separate issues. We have an open dialogue with authorities regarding the new stadium and the ideas we have in terms of security, including the fact that we don’t plan to have barriers inside. I would say that this goes in parallel and is not affecting the other dialogue about the Curva because it is consistent.

"We insist on saying that we would like to set a common goal with authorities to remove the barriers at the current stadium, not only at the new stadium. We can do it by saying that individuals who made mistakes must pay for it, while the others have to be helped in enjoying the spectacle and the entertainment we want to offer. To enjoy this means to be in a comfortable, pleasant situation - not being forced into any crazy battles, but only to go and be inside the stadium. The concept should be that if nothing bad or problematic is happening at the stadium, then that is the time to remove the barriers because the barriers are useless.

“The fans understand that this is 2016 and things have had to change. Of course everybody remembers the times when you can get more colors and experiences inside of the Curva with flares and smoke, but it is clear now that they are not allowed all over Europe. They are sanctioned very highly by UEFA, so it is clear that times have changed and this is not possible anymore. But I must say that in the Stadio Olimpico, you do not see flares or bombs anymore.

"With that said, all the rest should be really left open to the freedom of enjoying a place like a stadium, because colors and loudness are part of the experience. You need that and you cannot fight against that because it would be fighting against football.”